Winter, winter, go away!

The week here at home with my daughter and grandson, started out busy and slowed down at the end of the week. First up, was some tidying and cleaning on the weekend. With two of us working, it didn't take long at all until the main floor was looking good...at least briefly. I have nearly forgotten how much of a mess one small child can make. Though his play area is in the basement, several items get transported upstairs. The kitchen, too, tends to get to be a bit of a mess.

I set an alarm for Sunday morning at 1 a.m. so I could watch the final of the women's world curling. Canada's Team Homan prevailed over the team from Switzerland. This was a repeat from last year! As I've commented on an earlier comment, it was a close game through to the 7th end (a full game is 10 ends). Canada managed to get a deuce (two points) and led Switzerland 4-3 at that point. Then the wheels fell off for Switzerland, as they allowed a steal of two in the 8th end and another one point in the 9th. With a score of 7-3, Switzerland conceded defeat and the teams shook hands. The Swiss third and skip both missed shots in the two ends, something that is quite unusual for the two curlers. To be honest, while I was quite happy for Canada to win, I do love a game that is decided on the last rock in the 10th end. If I were on the ice, I'd likely be happier with a blow out.

On Tuesday, we dropped Eli at school and drove to the next town ever for a bit of shopping at the thrift store. We did extremely well there, I found a wind jacket, a hoodie, D found a hoodie, leggings for herself, a fort frame for Eli, and we bought a wooden breadbox. Total was about $55. The one hoodie she bought was a brand name that sells regularly for $60-70 and was in new condition. The leggings were definitely new as the tag was still on them. After a quick stop for a few groceries we were home in time to unload before it was time to pick up Eli from school for lunch.

Unfortunately, I had a fall on some ice as I was bringing in some of the groceries. I landed on my back and my head snapped back and hit the pavement, and likely a bit of ice or a stone. Like all head wounds, it bled heavily, and took forever to completely stop. I used a head band to hold the paper towel in place (hence Wednesday's photo). While D ran to get Eli, I managed to get our shopping put away and then I settled down to rest for much of the afternoon. D had a telephone medical appointment at 2 p.m. and I had decided if the bleeding had not stopped by then I would go to the ER to see if it needed stitches. In the meantime, a friend called and in our conversation reminded me to put something cold against it to restrict the blood vessels. That helped, the bleeding stopped and with an Advil the headache abated.

I didn't sleep particularly well overnight, awake every few hours and some weird dreams, but other than pain in my neck (muscles), I felt back to normal. I'll admit to some fuzzy thinking the previous afternoon. In fact, I handed the keys to my vehicle to my daughter and she drove it while I stayed at home.

Wednesday was a mostly quiet day, I did get out for a walk for a bit with a little shopping thrown in for good measure. At the hardware store, I picked up an indoor plant starting kit, some seeds, and a pretty kitty solar light for the garden. Later in the afternoon, we were able to pick up her car from the garage, the damage of the winter repaired, and the car looking pristine.

It was good that I got out the day prior as the snow started on Thursday morning. D took Eli to school in the morning and they had their parent-teacher interview. He is progressing well towards his goals in his IEP and is showing strength in both his mathematics and phonics. We're pretty darned proud of him!

D parked in the garage when she arrived home, and I drove to pick up Eli at lunch. While I waited, the visibility decreased significantly, with the snow falling heavily and blowing. At point I could barely make out the headlights of the vehicle just a block or so away. It slowed down by 3 p.m. This photo was taken about a half hour prior.

D went out and shovelled the back sidewalk out to the parking area while I made dinner. We had more snow overnight, and she was out by just before 7 a.m. shovelling again. I joined her for about 15 minutes or so to finish clearing off the parking area, and to clean off my car. I drove both drop off and pick up for Eli at school; the alley was a mess initially, but the city had the machine through to flatten the snow by the time we returned at lunch.

We're expecting a couple of cooler days with cold weather overnight this weekend, but more spring like temperatures should arrive by mid-week. In the meantime the pile of snow in the parking area is nearly as tall as my SUV!

I've done some cross-stitching this week, and started on the mittens for next year for Eli's school. One pair is complete and the second pair has one mitten finished. The Men's World Curling championship starts today, so this weekend and upcoming week should be good for working on these projects. Vacuuming...who needs to vacuum? :p And I won't need to stay up late, as the event is being held here in the province.

Have a great week ahead everyone!